When my friend Julia asked me if I wanted to go to an all day concert on Saturday, I was pretty stoked. When I heard Taylor Swift and Coldplay would both be included in the line-up, I was even more excited. We got up way early Saturday morning, eager to make our way to the Sound Relief concert in Sydney. There were two Sound Relief concerts, one in Sydney and one in Melbourne (pronounced Melbin here…just to let you know); all proceeds for these 2 events go to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal and Queensland Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal. The Victoria bushfires and Queensland floods have taken the lives and homes of many; these victims are definitely in need of a little support and hope. These concerts helped to raise over $5 million dollars, all of which would go directly to help those victims. The day was sure to bring laughter, enjoyment, great music and most of all hope; hope that things will turn around for those affected by the disasters. This seemed to be the overall theme for the day, as we could see when we made our way our way inside and after many touching words and tributes throughout the day. The entire stadium was filled with screaming fans and
overwhelming excitement. Coldplay was the opening band, putting on an awesome live show that really got the crowd pumped for the rest of the day. We were in the grass area “B” but I was determined to sneak into “A” for a closer spot and a better view. The chances of this happening seemed very slim, as security for this event was extremely strict and not willing to make any seating exceptions. 
After watching several daring people get tackled by 2, 3, or 4 security guards, my section B seating seemed to be just fine. I did get a little lost in the commotion and excitement at one point when a member from Colplay ran right in front of me and I jumped up, but was immediately pushed back by one very mean guard; I guess he was just doing his job and trying to keep everything under c ju ontrol but I was not impressed with his methods of doing this, and found myself quite upset and bothered by his rude behaviour. I got over this in about 2 seconds when they began a new song and I became even more enthralled with the music. When Coldplay finished, I was in the mood to sit down and relax a bit during the next few bands. We got some water and popsicles and found a spot on the grass to sit down and take a rest. The beaming sun was quite draining, even at this point early on in the concert. They had some pretty cool Australian bands playing and even though I had never heard any of the music before, I was still having a great time. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the sun and impatiently waiting for Taylor Swift’s performance, which was scheduled for 5:30. It wasn’t until about 2:30 or 3 when I realized that my skin had been frying in the sun all afternoon. I made an attempt to apply sunscreen at this point, but who knows what good this did. At about 4:30 we went to look for the best standing spot for the 5:30 show. Apparently Taylor Swift is just as popular here as she is in the states because people were crowded around chanting here name, almost as giddily excited as me. In all of the commotion, I didn’t even realize the enormous rain cloud looming over us…that is until the heavy raindrops began to stab my burnt skin. It was as if all of the sudden the skies had opened up as they began to pur down the coldest, largest rain drops I have ever felt in my life – it was so crazy!. I have never seen anything like this before. I found myself shivering, laughing, and screaming alongside everyone else in the crowd. We looked to each other in amazement and confusion, wondering what the fate of the rest of the concert would be. We stuck it out a few more minutes until the rain slowed slightly and the sun broke though the gloomy rain clouds. Eventually it stopped completely and the sun was shining brighter than ever; it was as if this rainstorm had never happened. After one more short performance, Taylor Swift ran on stage singing You Belong With Me, as the entire stadium followed along with her. In the middle of the song she had a costume change and appeared in a shimmering gold dress, almost perfectly matching the new rays of sun shining down. She sang 4 songs in total, including a couple of my favorites, Love Story and OUr Song. I am so glad the show continued and I was able to see her perform live; I have wanted to for some time and what better place then Sydney, Australia! The concert was until 11pm that night with some other Australian bands I had never heard of, but with soaked jeans and painful sunburn I wasn’t exactly in the mood to stick around and enjoy anything else. I admit I was being quite cranky, but I was uncomfortable and drained from such a long day. I arrived home just in time to hear more rain pound against my window, but listening to it from the comfort of my cozy bed was much more enjoyable this time around! The concert was amazing, despite the horrible sunburn I would have to deal with for the next couple of days!
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